Now that our November catalog projects are online and catalogs are in the mail, I thought it would be fun to show you a few "behind the scenes" snapshots of our catalog shots. Often we have to put ourselves and our models in ridiculous looking situations to get that lovely and natural looking shot. To make things a little interesting, we've decided to make a game out of it. Can you guess what the product is we're shooting? (Hint: It's either a kit or a book project.)

Remember the Portland contest I posted a few weeks ago? Sorry about the delay in picking a winner--we had lots of great entries, and I got sick last week, so it was a double whammy. We had so many awesome ideas suggested that we ended up choosing the top 10 entries and then drawing a random one from those. The lucky winner is Gwyneth who posted the following suggestions:

A lot of components go into creating great photos for our catalog and web site, and one important component is location. (It's not just true for real estate!) We like to get out of the studio as much as we can to capture the natural lighting and inspiring backdrops of the area in which we live. Since we're headquartered in Vancouver, WA, we do a lot of shooting in Portland, the gorge, Camas, and Vancouver. It really brings that "Pacific Northwest" feeling to our photos I think. Anyway, remember… Continue

Have you seen the new Fall issue of Interweave Knits yet? There are a lot of gorgeous patterns in this issue, but four of them really stood out for us because they would look especially fantastic in our new heavier weights of Gloss.

To celebrate Knit In Public Day, we’re knitting preemie caps for The Preemie Project over the weekend! The knitter who completes the most preemie caps by 9am PDT on Monday morning wins! To participate, go here.
The Preemie Project is most in need of caps for… Continue

Since we had such an amazing response to our first speed knitting contest, we're cooking up another one. Lots of you also requested that we host one over a weekend when you have more time to knit, and we're more than happy to oblige. Mark your calendars, ladies and gents, our next speed knitting contest will begin at 4pm Pacific time on June 12th, just in time for Knit In Public Day!!

I can't tell you what we're going to be knitting, but I can say that if you don't have at least 10… Continue

Note: If you’re just in it to win it, scroll down and read the bold print.

I think it’s something that’s happened to every knitter. You put hours into knitting a present for someone- picking the right yarn, finding the perfect pattern, knitting, ripping back, knitting again (maybe that’s just me). In the end, you think you have the most perfect gift ever created. You just know they are going to LOVE it. And then they open it… and….nothing. No… Continue

Have you seen Handknit Heroes yet? It's the first graphic novel for knitters, and it's pretty awesome. Not only did the first issue feature twins with superhuman powers and a mom who is secretly working to invent bullet proof fibers, it also included a pattern for the…Continue

The competition started at 9am on Monday, February 2nd, and our contestants have been knitting furiously ever since. I'm not even sure some of them stopped to eat or sleep! That gorgeous Hemlock Ring Blanket was completed by Cristi-Lael at 2:54 (PST). Congratulations Cristi-Lael!!! She knit the whole thing in less than 72 hours!!!

Our runner up, Ruthmci, finished her blanket at 3:03 (PST). It was an incredibly close… Continue

We recently found out that another company sells a product named "Essential", so we need to rename our Essential yarn line. We've been brainstorming, but honestly, we're stumped, so we need your help. Post your suggestions below, and if we pick your name, you win a $50 Knit Picks… Continue